File guide for nails



NOV. 7, 1939. M c, GORE 2,179,290

FILE UIDE FOR NAILS V Filed June 7, 1938 INVENTOR Mary C Gore Patented Nov. 7, 1939 Mary 0. Gore, New York, N. Y.

Application June' 7, 1938, Serial No. 212,293

7 Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in a file guide for finger nails.

More specifically, the invention proposes the construction of a file guide constructed from inexpensive paper or stiff flexible cloth material and which is adapted to be positioned upon the top face of the finger nail for guiding the filing of the nail to properly shape the front end thereof. Still further it is proposed that the sides of the file guide terminate in side corners provided with short lines which are adapted to be aligned with the corners of the finger nail to guide the longitudinal positioning of the guide on the nail.

A further object of this invention is to provide an element consisting of .a long line extending along the center of the nail guide to assist in properly positioning the nail guide laterally along the center of the nail- *Still further the invention proposes a means for attaching the front portion of the nail guide to the front portion of the nail in such a manner that it will be securely held in position during the filing of the nail and which may be easily removed after the nail has been completely filed. Still further it is proposed to construct the nail guide from a material which may be easily filed away and to provide thefront edge thereof with a number of guide lines for facilitating the short ening of the nail in the event that it is too long. Still further it is proposed to construct a permanent guide from fiexible metal material provided with a clip for engaging the finger for holding the guide in position upon the top face ofthe nail.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description and accompanying drawing, and to the appended claims in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawing forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a finger having a file guide according to this invention positioned upon the nail.

Figs. 2 to 2 inclusive illustrate the shape of the file guide to be used in conjunction with each of the fingers of the hand. l

Fig. 3 is a sectional view along the length of one of the file guides.

, Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a file guide constructed according to a modification of the invention.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 illustrating a still further modification of the invention. Fig. 6 is a similar view to Fig. 1, but illustrating another form of'nail guide.

Fig. 7 is a perspectiveview of a permanent file guide constructed from metal; r i

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 7 illustrating a still further modification of the invention.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view on the line. 99 of Fig. 8. i

The file guide for finger nails comprises a flexible sheet In which is adapted to conform with thecurvature of ones finger nail and which has a front apex the sides of v which serve to guide the filing of thenail. The flexible sheet may be constructed from inexpensivepaper or stiff cloth material which is cut to the proper size to fit the finger nails of ones hand. As shown in Figs. 2 to 2 inclusive, each of the finger halls of the hand require a differently shaped file;

guide in order to properly shape the front end of each nail. The guide shown in "Fig. 2 is to be used on the nail of the thumb, and the successive guides identified by the figure numerals 2 to 2 inclusive are to be used on the fingers following the thumb. i

The sides of the front apexterminate in side corners Ill adapted to be placed within the corners of the finger nail H for guiding the correct longitudinal position of the guide upon the nail II. The side corners Ill are formed with short inwardly extending lines l2 which are adapted to be positioned at the point of connection between the nail and the cuticle of the finger for guiding the longitudinal positioning of the guide.

An element on the sheet extends centrally of the sheet from the front apex to the back thereof to assist in the correct lateralcentering of the guide I!) upon the nail H. This'element comprises a line l3 which extends along the length of the file guide and which is adapted to center upon the nail parallel to the sides offithe finger for controlling the lateral centering of the I0. I l .r

A means is provided for securing the .front portion of the guide to the top face of the nail, while the rear portion thereof is freefrom the nail. This means comprises a mucilage material I4 which is applied on the bottom face of the file guide on the front, portion thereof and which is adapted to fixedly secure the front portion of the guide upon the nail for fixedly holding the same in a'position thereon. Thelrear portion of theguide is free of any mucilage and merely rests on the nail to permit the same to be manually grasped for pulling the guide off the nail when the filing operation is completed.

The operation of this device is as follows:

The file guide I is positioned upon the nail II by moistening the mucilage material [4 and shifting the guide In upon the top face of the nail to align the short lines I2 with relation to the point of connection between the nail and the cuticle for longitudinally positioning the guide on the nail. The line 13 is also properly positioned by centering the same upon the top of the nail with the line extending parallel with the sides of the finger for laterally centering the guide on the nail. That portion of the nail which extends beyond the front apex of the guide I0 is filed away until its front portion is flush with the front of the guide It]. The filing operation is then stopped and the guide is removed from the nail by manually grasping the free back portion of the guide and pulling it from the nail.

According to the modification shown in Fig. 4 the file guide I0 is constructed similar to that shown in Figs. 1-3, except that a means is provided for controlling the filing away of the guide in the event the finger nail should be too long.

This guide, shown in Fig. 4, is constructed from material which may be easily filed away with the nail and is provided with lines l5 extending parallel with the sides forming the front apex of the nail for controlling the movement of the file for filing away the nail and the guide after the extended portion of the nail has been filed away. In other respects this form of the invention is similar to the previous form and similar z-parts may be identified by corresponding reference numerals.

According to the modifications shown in Fig. 5

the nail guide I!) is formed with an upwardly extending handle portion Hl intermediate that portion of the guide which extends between the mucilage material I4 and the rear edge thereof. This handle lil facilitates the shifting of the file guide upon the top face of the finger nail H. In other respects this form of the invention is similar to the previous forms.

In Fig. 6, the handle portion l0 of finger nail guide I0 is illustrated at the edge of the guide.

According to the modification shown in Fig. 7 the nail guide 20 is constructed from metal adapted to conform with the curvature of the finger nail and which is substantially resilient to permit the same to bend when positioned upon the nail to accommodate itself to different size finger nails. At its rear end the file guide 29 continues into a circular clip 2! which is adapted to encircle the finger immediately behind the nail ii for holding the guide in position thereon.

According to the modification shown in Figs. 8 and 9 the file guide 20 is constructed from separate sections 20 pivotally connected together at their front ends by means of a pin 22 which extends therethrough. The back end of the sections 2H are adapted to be adjustably connected upon a portion of the circular clip 2| for per mitting the front apex of the file guide to be increased or decreased to conform with nails of different widths.

The rear ends of the sections 2E1 are adjustably connected with the clip 2| by means of a leaf spring 23 securely attached to the clip 2! intermediate of its ends by means of a pin 24. The rear ends of the sections 20 are adapted to be engaged between adjacentfaces of the leaf spring 23 and the clip 2| on either side of the pin 24. Thus when the guide 20 is moved laterally inwards the adjacent faces of the sections 2|] will contact the pin 24 and be pushed apart for increasing the width of the front apex of the guide. 5 For decreasing the size of the front apex of the guide the guide 20 is pulled laterally outwards and the sections 28 manually urged together to cause the adjacent edges of the sections 20 to continually engage against the pin 24.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise constructions herein disclosed and the right is reserved to all changes and modifications coming within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A file guide for finger nails, comprising a flexible sheet adapted to conform with the curvature of ones finger nail and having a front apex the sides of which serve to guide the filing of the nail, said sides terminating in side corners adapted to be placed within the corners of ones nail to guide correct longitudinal positioning of the guide on the nail, an element on said sheet central of the front apex to guide correct lateral centering of the guide on the nail, and means 3 for securing the front portion of said guide to the nail.

2. A file guide for finger nails, comprising a flexible sheet adapted to conform with the curvature of ones finger nail and having a front apex $3 the sides of which serve to guide the filing of the nail, said sides terminating in side corners adapted to be placed within the corners of ones nail to guide correct longitudinal positioning of the guide on the nail, an element on said sheet cenum tral of the front apex to guide correct lateral centering of the guide on the nail, and means for securing the front portion of said guide to the nail, said flexible sheet being constructed from inexpensive paper or cloth material.

3. A file guide for finger nails, comprising a flexible sheet adapted to conform with the curvature of ones finger nail and having a front apex the sides of which serve to guide the filing of the nail, said sides terminating in side corners adapted to be placed within the'corners of ones nail to guide correct longitudinal positioning of the guide on the naiL'an element on said sheet central of the front apex to guide correct lateral centering of the guide on the nail, and means for securing the front portion of said guide to the nail, said side corners being formed with inwardly extending short lines which are adapted to be aligned with the point of connection between the nail and cuticle for guiding the longitudinal posiso tioning of the guide.

l. A file guide for finger nails, comprising a flexible sheet adapted to conform with the curvature of ones finger nail and having a front apex the sides of which serve to guide the filing .of the 565 nail, said sides terminating in side corners adapted to be placed within the corners of ones nail to guide correct longitudinal positioning of the guide of the nail, an element on said sheet centralof the front apex to guide correct lateraltro centering of the guide on the nail, and means for securing the front portion of said guide to the nail, said element comprising a line extending along the length'of said guide and adapted to be positioned upon the center of the nail parallel 115 with the sides of the finger for controlling the lateral centering of the guide.

5. A file guide for finger nails, comprising a flexible sheet adapted to conform with the curvature of ones finger nail and having a front apex the sides of Which serve to guide the filing of the nail, said sides terminating in side corners adapted to be placed within the corners of ones nail to guide correct longitudinal positioning of the guide on the nail, an element on said sheet central of the front apex to guide correct lateral centering of the guide on the nail, and means for i securing the front portion of said guide to the nail, said means com-prising mucilage upon the front portion of said guide for fixedly attaching this portion to the top face of said nail.

6. A file guide for finger nails, comprising a flexible sheet adapted to conform with the curvature of ones finger nail and having a front apex the sides of which serve to guide the filing of the nail, said sides terminating in side corners adapted to be placed Within the corners of ones nail to guide correct longitudinal positioning of the guide on the nail, an element on said sheet central of the front apex to guide correct lateral centering of the guide on the nail, and means for securing the front portion of said guide to the nail, said sheet being constructed from material adapted to he filed away with said nail for shortening said nail beyond the front edge of said guide, and lines on the front portion of said guide running parallel with the sides forming said front apex for guiding the movement of said file to properly shorten the nail.

7. A file guide for finger nails, comprising a flexible sheet adapted to conform with the curvature of ones finger nail and having a front apex the sides of which serve to guide the filing of the nail, said sides terminating in side corners adapted to be placed Within the corners of .ones nail to guide correct longitudinal positioning of the guide on the nail, an element on said sheet central of the front apex to guide correct lateral centering of the guide on the nail, and means for securing the front portion of said guide to the nail, said guide being formed with a handle portion for facilitating the movement of said guide upon the top face of said nail.

MARY C. GORE. 

